The cannabis industry, worth an estimated $7.2 billion in 2016, precariously straddles the recreational and medicinal market. To balance itself, the industry must put a premium on talent management. Selecting and developing a qualified customer-facing team is an essential ingredient of success for today’s cannabis business executives (CBEs). Customer service, order processing, purchasing, production, and […]
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Ohio Staffing Company Says It Won’t Allow Employees to Use Medical Marijuana
A Dayton company will not allow its employees to use medical marijuana even though it will soon be legal in our state. BarryStaff, a business that recruits workers for manufacturing companies announced on Monday it won’t be changing its drug and alcohol policy and that employees and future hires who test positive for pot will […]
Willie Nelson Is Looking For a Handful of Good People For His New Marijuana Company
If you’ve ever dreamt of saying the words, “I just applied for Willie Nelson’s weed company,” your dreams are about to become a reality. Willie Nelson is hiring new employees for Willie’s Reserve, his “premium cannabis lifestyle brand” that features his own special, hand-picked brand of pot. The official website says the purpose of the company is […]
How Pennsylvania Employers Deal With Workers Using Medical Marijuana
The Pennsylvania House and Senate have been abuzz in the last few weeks with SB3, the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act, which was signed into law. Why is the Medical Marijuana Act important to Pennsylvania employers and employment law attorneys? Because employees have protections under this act in the workplace, and the law specifically sets forth […]
Are You Focused On The Right Things With Your Workforce?
By Mel Kleiman Where is your focus? Is it on staving off the impacts of the economy and/or the competition instead of on what you can do to improve the experiences of your customers and your employees? If so, to really get ahead of the game, I suggest you focus on the latter — something you […]
Believe It or Not, Marijuana Inventory Is Insurable – For Now
I recently chaired a webinar about marijuana and insurance issues, and I have already been roped into doing another one. I am well aware of how cannabis and insurance are a legally charged combination, and I expect to see an increase of cannabis insurance cases very soon. A federal court in Colorado just came down with an important cannabis insurance […]
Must Employers Accommodate Employee Medical Marijuana Use?
By Eric B. Meyer I’ve blogged before about how grilling a medical marijuana user about her disability, just before firing the employee, could give rise to a viable disability-discrimination claim. In other words, where the disability (as opposed to the medical marijuana use) motivates the employment action, that’s discrimination. I’ve also blogged before that the Americans with […]
Does the Cannabis Industry Present an Opportunity for Organized Labor?
Legal marijuana is here, and it’s not going away. By early 2016, the states of Washington, Colorado, Oregon, and Alaska permitted the social use of cannabis, and 23 others protected the sale of medical marijuana. The Second Annual Cannabis Summit in Seattle in early January drew over 300 participants; the group included growers, retailers, academics […]
Colorado Marijuana Laws Being Challenged by Out-of-State Organizations
Three of the four marijuana-centered lawsuits filed against Colorado officials and businesses were organized and at least partially funded by out-of-state anti-drug organizations and socially conservative law firms, a Denver Post analysis shows. Only one lawsuit, filed by the states of Nebraska and Oklahoma, appears to be entirely homegrown. For those who oppose Colorado’s marijuana […]
Why Canadian Employers Must Accommodate Medical Cannabis Users
Employers in Canada have a duty to accommodate employees with medical disabilities that are using prescribed medical cannabis as a treatment. I should say, at the outset, that I am a Human Resources specialist, and my perspective does not constitute legal advice of any kind. Human Rights legislation in Canada requires employers to accommodate individuals […]
Alaska Forecast Predicts Statewide Job Loss — Except in the Cannabis Industry
For the second time in nearly two decades, Alaska’s yearly employment forecast is predicting job losses across the state. The annual report, published recently by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, is predicting a net loss of about 2,500 jobs in 2016 after 1,700 jobs were gained in 2015. “Both statewide and in Anchorage, […]
Buffalo Lawyer Is First in New York to Focus on Medical Marijuana
Marc S. Gromis worked as a federal prosecutor for 15 years, going after scam artists who cheated people out of their money. He retired in 2002 as chief of white collar crime prosecutions in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Buffalo. Now, he’s starting a new legal career. Gromis is believed to be the first lawyer […]
Here’s What the Washington, D.C. Council Could Do to Allow Legal Pot Sales
The D.C. Council’s surprise see-saw on loosening marijuana laws Tuesday — and promise to revisit the issue within a month — has set up a vexing period of high-stakes negotiations that could put the council on a collision course with Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and with a Republican-controlled Congress that wishes D.C. voters never legalized […]
New Jersey Senate Panel Approves Job Protections For Medical Marijuana Patients
New Jersey employers would be prohibited from firing people because they participate in the state medical marijuana program unless they can show these employees are impaired and unable to do their jobs, according to a bill approved by a Senate committee Monday. The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee voted 6-0 with one […]
Study Finds Employers Have Little Tolerance For Any Cannabis Use by Employees
Medical or recreational use of marijuana is legal in 23 states and the District of Columbia, but employers in those locations continue to have a zero-tolerance policy about the drug’s use in the workplace, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found in a survey of HR professionals. In the most extensive survey of employer […]
New Jersey Addresses Legalizing Recreational Marijuana Use
Although Governor Chris Christie has threatened to veto legislation seeking to decriminalize or legalize marijuana use or possession, on November 16, 2015, New Jersey’s Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from decriminalization and legalization proponents without taking any vote on pending legislation. New Jersey presently allows for the use of marijuana for medical purposes, which is […]
How to Address Negativity in Your Cannabis Workplace
Your workplace is seething with hostility and negativity. No matter where the bad vibes came from, it’s up to you to help make the atmosphere more positive, productive and supportive. As a manager, supervisor, or staff member, you usually do not control the situation that is causing the negativity. Perhaps no one in your workplace […]
Michigan High Court: Fired Medical Marijuana Users Can Still Get Unemployment
The Michigan Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from the Unemployment Insurance Agency in a case involving benefits for people fired from jobs over medical marijuana use. The denial means people with medical marijuana cards who lost work after failing drug tests will continue to be eligible for unemployment benefits, based on an […]
